The Local Government (Household Charge) Act 2011 and the Local Government (Household Charge) Regulations 2012 provide the legislative basis for the household charge.
The household charge is framed on a self assessment basis and under the legislation an owner of a residential property on the liability date of 1 January 2012 is liable to pay the household charge by 31 March 2012, unless otherwise exempted or entitled to claim a waiver.
Section 12 of the Act provides that it is a function of each local authority to collect household charges, late payment fees and late payment interest due to it and to deal with matters associated with such collection.
At a meeting with the Household Charge Project Board on 12 March 2012, communication and a range of other possible arrangements relating to the role of local authorities in collecting the household charge were discussed.